Before we rehomed Zeke, I began a dialogue with a breeder in the US about her Wirehaired Vizslas and our desire to try again for this dog that I still feel fits our family pretty well. I told her we would be waiting for Zeke or Landis to move on before we added another dog. And then after we rehomed Zeke, I wanted the furthest thing from a Vizsla which is why we got Jovie. And I love her, but she is a terrier. And since we lost Landis, there is a gaping hole in our house. I am constantly looking for the missing dog. So, long story short, we got on a list with this breeder. She is only doing two litters this year. She uses puppy culture in her puppy raising (hence why I purchased the videos ) as well as some of Grisha Stewart’s protocols. She has raised several litters with this set up and has wonderful outcomes. She shows to get championships and then goes for working titles in hunting, tricks, Nosework, and dock diving. Mama is out of her own breeding. Dad is from England and a breeder there who also does a lot of enrichment. Both even and steady dogs. The mom’s brother is a working therapy dog at a therapeutic riding facility for children with profound special needs. He’s amazing (see photo below).

Puppies were born yesterday just a couple of days early. I hadn’t shared because we are #6 on the puppy list and if she didn’t have 6 puppies, we wouldn’t be getting one. But she has 8 littles. And puppies are placed by the breeder according to temperament and family match, so order only matters in terms of whether or not there are enough puppies to cover the list. The first 24 hours are a little touch and go with any litter, but she is sending out an update with the babies’ info and all on Saturday or Sunday assuming everyone does well. I am both terrified and ecstatic. I don’t want to carry any Zeke fears into this new puppy. And I think I have done everything possible to avoid those pitfalls short of not getting the same breed. But in theory and on paper, we are still a good match for the breed. We just didn’t mesh with Zeke and there was so much about him that wasn’t typical. I can’t stand not sharing with my ODO peeps, but I won’t be sharing on Facebook until it’s final and even then, probably sparingly. So I will share pictures and stuff here. If the right match isn’t in this litter, we will wait for another. But I am hoping for good things!

I know you love the breed and I'm sure the experience with Zeke's breeder was a learning experience, to say the least. Alex's breeder, who was instrumental in introducing the Finnish Lapphund in the USA, has a lot of contacts and experience with bringing puppies and dogs in from overseas, and she has told me in private discussions that if she didn't have the standing she does in the breed world, she would never go to a non-US breeder -- it is too easy to be taken advantage of, and the puppy owner's recourse is terribly limited. Unfortunately, I think your experience with Zeke proved that, and *huge* props to you for getting Zeke located in a home that suits him.

Long way of saying I don't think any "Zeke fears" will carry over, and I think those fears were in large part related to the breeder and the relationship you were not able to have with the breeder.

Hopefully we'll be offering congratulations soon! Those are some good looking dogs in the pictures, and each of the dogs sounds very stable and appealing.

I wouldn't worry too much about the Zeke fears affecting any new pup. You were confronted with some serious health issues and a lot of down time that affected Zeke's training, socialization, and his "fit" in your family. Plus, as Connie already said, working with a reputable U.S. breeder that has sound breeding stock and a good contract should alleviate those fears.

Thanks! We are anxiously anticipating the update coming this weekend. I love this breeder. She communicates often and with lots of detail. She actually had a very similar experience with her first wire (though hers came from a breeder in the US).

I think Jovie will approve. We thought we might wait til she’s a little older, but I don’t want her being an only dog too long. She goes to the daycare play group once a week or so to keep up her dog skills. But I can only imagine what being an only female terrier for too long might bring to the table of introducing another dog to the house. We watched my friend’s 9 month old Rhodesian pup last weekend. It was exhausting. But they had so much fun together. Bodee is a mama’s boy and needed me to sleep next to him. But he is currently similar in size to a full grown HWV. And the dynamic was similar energy wise. And I loved it. So did Jovie. So I think this puppy will fit in well. There will be an adjustment training-wise. Landis was so push button that he didn’t need much work. I have basically trained one dog at a time for a while now. But these two will both need training daily so that will be interesting.

Jovie should be going into her first heat any time now. After that she gets spayed. I am hoping that can happen before we bring home the pup. If not, we’ll figure it out. I keep checking my email compulsively hoping for an early update. Lol

Fingers crossed for the timing of everything! I admire your willingness to train two puppies at the same time. Just contemplating that makes me want to lie down on the couch and take a nap. Sometimes I show my age ...

Agree about Jovie getting used to being an only dog, so bringing in another puppy while she is in her first year should work out very well. And being a terrier, she is not going to let herself be run over by a larger dog, I'm sure!

And being a terrier, she is not going to let herself be run over by a larger dog, I'm sure!

Nope!! She rules the roost when we visit my dad. She knocks his 10 month old boxer for a loop when he steps out of line. It’s hilarious. He is super pushy with their 11 year old boxer who lets him get away with murder. Jovie will probably be the first dog I’ve ever had that actually will teach a puppy to behave. My labs have been such pushovers.

One of Linda's Lappies just had a litter of NINE pups, that's quite a big litter for this breed; all are doing well (3 weeks old now) and Keidi is a great mama but I imagine she is spending her time eating double cheeseburgers and milkshakes, with nine babies to feed!

Jovie taking a puppy in hand -- yeah, not only is she not a Lab (the breed that is often too nice for its own good) but she's a GIRL. Girl dogs have about 1/100th the tolerance for rudeness that boy dogs do, in my experience. But they are very fair about things so long as their rules are followed!

All puppies growing and doing well. Early neurological stimulation started at day 3 and will continue through day 16.

This is the “tree” litter. All puppies will have the kennel name Compass and then a variety of tree. Either the common name or the Latin name. Call name can be whatever we want. So I have to decide on a tree... any ideas?

I am trying to find a name that sounds good enough that when announced it doesn’t sound weird. We likely won’t base the call name off of it in any way. I talked to Kara and as we all know, she rocks at the puppy naming game.

Noble Fir (the type of Christmas tree we always get)
Basa Oak (a famous old tree in Hungary)
American Linden (linden trees are common in Hungary but grow in America too. Also called basswood, it is desirable for woodworking and making electric guitars)
Rosewood (used for guitars like John’s)
Ceylon Cinnamon or True Cinnamon (like this for a red dog)
California Nutmeg (California connection and color)
Dracaena cinnabari (dragons blood tree looks cool and name is cool. Possibly too hard to pronounce)

LOL sure she does - as long as it isn't Kara's puppy! I named my own puppy and I'm already considering squirreling pennies away to pay for a name change with AKC - and she'll never be shown, what does it matter?

Bruce The Spruce and Caci The Acacia didn't make the cut, huh? Teach you to message me in the middle of the night.

Everyone loves the dragon connection. Looks like the call name will be Elliot for a boy (Pete’s Dragon) and not sure about a girl name yet. Some possibles are
Saphira (dragon from Eragon),
Nowi (video game dragon/human, not my fave),
Kaida (supposedly means little dragon in Japanese... checking with Nana),
Fae (also a video game character)
Naydra (blue dragon from Legend of Zelda)

Wow Amanda that is exciting news. Elvis is showing some promise in lure coursing so maybe next year we will see you at That Park that has field training and events. I can’t remember right now Prada Park?
Congratulations!